Fischer Sports: Building a Summer
A spring and summer growth strategy for a 100-year-old Austrian ski brand, developed by a team of six in a seven-week client engagement for my MS in Management program, fall 2025.
Fischer's team invited us to visit its U.S. offices.
Fischer leads the world in Nordic skiing and makes some of the most respected ice hockey sticks in the sport, but most of its revenue arrives with the snow. We recommended a phased line of summer accessories, starting with a product Fischer could launch quickly and profitably, and building toward one that would put the brand on the trail every weekend from May to October.
The challenge
Fischer asked where it should play beyond winter. Which spring and summer category would strengthen its standing in performance and outdoor sports, keep its athletes engaged in all four seasons, and build revenue that does not depend on a cold year?
How we approached it
We moved from the market, to the competition, to the customers themselves.
- Market scanOutdoor trends, seasonality, and a PESTEL review
- CompetitorsSalomon, Rossignol, and Black Diamond, side by side
- Issue treeQuestions on demand, product, channels, operations, and finances
- CustomersA survey of 61 athletes, two expert interviews, REI staff, and the Snowbound Expo
- SynthesisWeighted criteria and a go-to-market plan
The competitors set the bar. Salomon built a four-season business on trail running, and Rossignol is working to grow its summer share from 7% to 15% by 2028.
What we found
Performance decides
Chose a brand mainly on performance and reliability, well ahead of price and design.
Loyalty stays in its season
Mix brands between winter and summer at least some of the time, so a ski reputation would not carry a summer product on its own.
Awareness comes first
Did not use Fischer, and more than half had never heard of the brand, mostly runners and cyclists.
In their own words, athletes kept asking for the same things: ways to stay cool, stay hydrated, and recover well on long days outdoors.
Our sample skewed young, with most respondents between 18 and 25, so we treated these numbers as direction rather than proof and tested them against our expert interviews and market data.
How we decided
We scored our three strongest candidates on six criteria, weighted by how much each one mattered to Fischer.
| Criterion | Weight | Thermo-regulated apparel | Hydration vest | Sunglasses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer demand | 1.00 | High | High | Medium |
| Fit with the Fischer brand | 0.95 | Medium | Medium | Low |
| Technical feasibility | 0.90 | Medium | Medium | Low |
| Financial viability and margin | 0.85 | High | Medium | High |
| Channel and distribution | 0.80 | High | High | Low |
| Speed to market | 0.75 | High | Medium | Medium |
| Weighted score | 13.9 | 12.3 | 8.7 |
Then we changed our minds. Apparel scored highest on the first pass. When we tested those scores against our interviews and a deeper feasibility review, apparel brought sizing complexity, longer development, and a crowded field, and accessories offered a faster launch, higher margins, lower risk, and a closer fit with the engineering Fischer is known for. We followed the evidence.
The recommendation
A summer accessories line, launched in three phases and sequenced by speed to market.
Compression sleeves
The fast, high-margin entry
Simple to produce and easy to outsource, in a compression category growing about 9% a year. Fischer can stand out through compression mapping, ventilation, and cooling, in a space Salomon, Rossignol, and Black Diamond have left open.
Hydration vests
The growth and visibility driver
Worn by 72% of trail runners, in a category growing about 7% a year with an established price band of $120 to $150. Fischer can own the space between cluttered race vests and basic everyday ones, and put its name on the trail all season.
Performance sunglasses
The selective add-on
A large market with little mountain-specific differentiation, worth entering only with a clear functional advantage, such as optics sourced through a partner like UVEX.
Estimated time to market
How I contributed
I designed and led our customer survey, which reached 61 outdoor athletes, and turned its results into the findings that shaped our direction, including the finding that brand loyalty does not follow athletes from winter into summer. Like everyone on our team of six, I also worked across the competitor research, the evaluation criteria, and the final recommendation.
What stayed with me from Fischer is how quickly a strong reputation stops traveling once the season changes, and how much of growing a brand comes down to earning new reasons to be part of someone's life throughout the year.
The full presentation, survey results, and evaluation grid are available on request at tkachr@bu.edu.